Headphone Bluetooth Conversion
For the past 5 years the Audio-Technica ATH-M20X headphones have been my workhorse for all audio when sat at my desk. Great sound, noise isolation and comfort at a very reasonable price. However, the cord that comes with them is very long and not removable, unlike the slightly more expensive versions produced by Audio-Technica. Also, I fancied having a pair of bluetooth headphones. My solution is to open up my headphones, and replace the cable with a very short jack. This can be extended for normal use, or plugged into a bluetooth adapter with a very short cable.
Required Tools
- Screw driver
- Soldering Iron
- Wire strippers or a knife
- Multimeter
Process
Opening up the left side of the headphones reveals three colours of wire (left channel, right channel and ground). Using the continuity setting on the multimeter work out which wire goes to which section on the audio jack. Note, you will need to cut the wires first, just leave a section of each colour still attached to the headphone so you can map the colours back and make a note.
Now you need to choose if you want to have a male or female adapter coming from the headphone. Either is fine, but on reflection I would have gone for a male adapter for even simpler connection with my bluetooth adapter. It may just depend on whatever old cable you have lying around however. Again, use the continuity setting on the multimeter to work out which wire is connected to which section of the audio jack, then solder it into the position you worked out from before. The new wiring is shown below.
Of course you can make the cable any length you want. I went for just enough flex that I could twist the cable up or down. This was because I planned to attach the bluetooth adapter to the band of the headphone, as shown below.
The bluetooth adapter is attached with a bit of heavy duty velcro for easy removal. However, a bit of elastic band would do just as well. The adapter I went for is a TaoTronics TT-BA07 for just under £7, although there are loads of alternatives around. For me this is definitely worth it, as it gives an old pair of headphones a new lease of life. I'm not sure if you can buy a decent pair of bluetooth headphones for ~£60 and save yourself the hassle, probably. However, in this case it's one less thing for the landfill.